Turning Question

[gMike]

I don't turn, which will become readily apparent in a minute.  I was looking at some soapstone carvings this morning and saw a soapstone ball point pen.  I looked at several hundred carved pieces of soapstone and only saw one pen.  My question is, has anyone here turned a soapstone pen?  It seems to me that trying to jam a ballpoint refill and associated pieces into a piece of stone would be a recipe for disaster.  What say you spinner folks?

[chips ahoy]

You might want to check with Grey Mountain or Michael Mouse.Seems to me it would be rather soft to insert a pen mechanism into.

Mel

[Arlin Eastman]

I had a guy give me 4 pieces of soapstone 4x4x4 and after turning one and thinking I could get a thin wall well it was not to be.

On a pen I would drill the blank and glue in the brass then turn it down and sand it the rest of the way and I would not cut closer then 1/4" before sanding.

When I get ready to do one of the other three I will try some thin CA to the walls to get them more stable.

Me I would love to find out where to get some and turn some pens or other stuff but I have just plain gray stuff with nothing noticeable about it but good for practice.

[AHill]

It's been done before, but like Arlin said, you need a larger size pen kit to turn soapstone without risking blowout.  It's very brittle.  Turn down to maybe 1/8" from final dimension, then sand to the final size.  Use CA to harden it.  Polish with micromesh.  I looked to see if Tru-stone came in a soapstone and it did not.  Tru-stone is artificial stone that looks very much like the real thing.

[Grey Mountain]

I have never done pens and have never worked with soapstone, so I can't offer any advice.

GM

[Wipedout]

When I get ready to do one of the other three I will try some thin CA to the walls to get them more stable.

I doubt that CA will help.  Soapstone is completely Nonporous 

My kitchen island is soapstone.  Sanding it makes talcum powder.

[MichaelMouse]

My kitchen island is soapstone.  Sanding it makes talcum powder.

Which, as we know, is bad for living things either high (lungs) or low.